Mercury Systems has announced that its Chelmsford, Mass. facility recently received the Category 1A Trusted Supplier accreditation for design capability from the US Defense Department’s Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA). This expands upon the previously received Category 1A accreditation for broker, packaging, assembly, and test at Mercury’s Phoenix, Ariz. facility, and is part of Mercury’s overall strategy to be the leading commercial provider of trusted and secure sensor and mission processing subsystems. The vast majority of companies receiving DMEA accreditation are either defense prime contractors or semiconductor suppliers. Mercury is the only commercial provider of embedded computing boards and subsystems to have received DMEA accreditation to date.
The DMEA Trusted Supplier accreditation is a critical component of complying with DoD Instruction 5200.44, “Protection of Mission Critical Functions to Achieve Trusted Systems and Networks (TSN).” That DoD policy requires that “…in applicable systems, integrated circuit-related products and services shall be procured from a trusted supplier using trusted processes accredited by the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) when they are custom-designed, custom-manufactured, or tailored for a specific DoD military end use.”
“We are proud to be part of the DoD Trusted Program and to continue developing advanced technology for national security, military and aerospace programs,” said Ian Dunn, Vice President and General Manager of Mercury’s Sensor and Mission Processing group. “From our design activities in Chelmsford to our manufacturing facilities in Phoenix, Mercury’s trusted supply chain provides the confidence in people and processes required for design, manufacture, and distribution of national security critical components.”
Mercury Systems joins a select group of companies that have been accredited by the DoD Trusted Program, which was established to assure the integrity and confidentiality of integrated circuits during design and manufacturing. The DMEA accreditation underscores the strength of Mercury’s corporate ISO 9001 Quality foundation, cleared and vetted employees, and facility and information security. Mercury’s commitment to excellence in industrial security has also been recognized by the Defense Security Service (DSS) with multiple Superior ratings for several of its advanced microelectronics center (AMC) facilities. Furthermore, all design and manufacturing records are protected with an active cybersecurity program modeled after the Center for Internet Security (CIS) critical security controls.